The Latest News from Our Field

The White House and Mothers Against Drunk Driving have joined forces to create a new campaign against drugged driving. The campaign calls on parents to become more aware of the consequences of teenagers driving under the influence of drugs.

A new tool created by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the American Academy of Pediatrics is designed to help pediatricians talk to teenagers about alcohol use.

Almost all smokers who are hospitalized in the United States receive advice on quitting, according to a new study.

Rising unemployment is associated with an increase in drinking, a new study suggests.

The growing popularity of synthetic drugs such as “bath salts” is spurring an increase in makeshift drug labs in towns across the country.

An estimated 56 percent of parents in a Massachusetts survey say their children have access to parents’ prescription drugs at home. One in seven parents say they have given their children pain medication that was not prescribed for their child.

Drivers in Florida have been arrested and convicted of driving under the influence based on defective alcohol breath test machines, according to the Herald-Tribune.

The Employee Assistance Research Foundation has issued a call for grant proposals, which will focus on workplace-related outcomes of employee assistance programs. The proposals are due by November 30.

If the world’s population continues to smoke at current levels, smoking could lead to an extra 18 million cases of tuberculosis, and 40 million excess deaths by 2050.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills that increase access to sterile syringes. The bills are designed to reduce the spread of HIV and hepatitis C among people who use drugs.

Almost 1,600 people applying for welfare benefits in Florida have declined to undergo drug testing, which is required by a new state law.

Kentucky is considering whether to require prescriptions for cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in methamphetamine.

School counselors have the ability to see inconsistencies in performance or changes in behavior that may fly under the radar of a family member, says Stephanie LoBiondo, MS, of the American School Counselor Association.

A growing number of states are requiring drug testing for recipients of welfare, food stamps, unemployment and other benefits.

Parents and officials are protesting the appearance of candy shaped like marijuana leaves in stores around the country.

The decision by a public college in Missouri to require drug testing of all students has stirred a fierce debate, according to The New York Times.

Movies that depict smoking make less money than smoke-free films, a new study concludes.

United States attorneys in California have told dozens of marijuana dispensaries they must close or face criminal and civil action.

A study of people admitted for substance abuse treatment for the first time has found they waited an average of 15.6 years to seek help from the time they initially used the substance.

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a law banning alcohol sales at self-checkout aisles.

A new study finds a program designed to assist communities in preventing unhealthy behaviors in teens is effective in reducing adolescent smoking and drinking.

A group representing pain management physicians is advocating for legislation that would require health care professionals who prescribe opioids to receive specialized training. Several such bills are currently circulating in the House and Senate.

Doctors frequently fail to ask their young adult patients about excess alcohol use. The findings come from a new study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

The Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health announced they will study the effect of new tobacco regulations on the health and behavior of smokers.

Drivers who test positive for marijuana or who drive within three hours of using marijuana are more than twice as likely to be involved in motor vehicle crashes compared with those who don’t use the drug, according to a new review of studies.